Beehive



, UNITED STATES PATENT FFI'CE.

NORMAN OOIWISTOOK KELSO, OF HUNTINGSBURG, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, OF ONE-HALF TO ISAAC L. HARDIN, OF IRELAND,

INDIANA.

BEEHIVE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 566,913, dated September 1, 1896. Application filed August 14,1894. Serial No. 520,280. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NORMAN OoMsTooK KELSO, a citizen of the United States, residing at Huntingsburg, in the county of Dubois and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Beehive, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in beehives.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of beehives and to provide a simple and inexpensive one which will facilitate the shipping of bees and which will enable the proper ventilation to be obtained while transferring bees.

A further object of the invention is to facilitate the handling of bees, to enable them to be readily caged for transferring, and to provide convenient access for smoking purposes.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a hive constructed in accordance with this invention, the cover being swung back to expose the super and the front shutter being open. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken centrally through the hive, the cage being applied in operative position. Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional View of the super. Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the hive, the cage being arranged above the body'of the hive and employed in connection with a combined division and weather board. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the cage. Fig. 6 is a similar view of the horizontal partition or weather board. Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view showing the wedgeshaped blocks for clamping the honey-sections in the super.

Like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawlngs.

1 designates a hive-body mounted on a detachable bottom board 2 and provided at its front and rear with ventilating-openings 3, covered by sheets of gauze 5. These openings 3 are designed for ventilating the hive while transferring bees or shipping them, and

the size of these ventilating-openings is regulated by shutters 4, hinged at the sides of the openings and adapted to fit within the same to close them'when desired.

The bottom 2 is provided at opposite sides with hooks 6, which engage eyes 7 of the body 1., and dowel-pins 8 are provided to secure the bottom board more strongly to the body.

A bee-entrance 9 is provided at the front of the hive. The bottom board projects slightly from the hive at this point to form an alight-ing-board 10, and the bee-entrance may be closed, when desired, by a verticallymovable slide 11, mounted in ways 12 of the body.

The hive has arranged Within it a series of brood-frames 13, and hinged to the upper edges of the rear of 'the body is a cover 14, Which may be secured upon the body at the front thereof by hooks l5,and which is adapted to form an upper compartment for a super 16. The adjacent edges of the body and the cover are oppositely rabbeted to form an overlapping joint to form a tight connection between the two parts.

The super is constructed in the form of a crate, and is designed to carry any desired number of rows of honey-sections 16 three being shown in the accompanying drawings. It is composed of end pieces 17, connected by bottom slats 18 and upper side cleats 19, between which latter is arranged a hinged screen-door 20, secured, when closed, by a pivoted button 21. The screen-door 2O ventilates the super when used as a shipping-crate and greatly facilitates smoking when in position in the hive, thereby enabling the cover of the hive to be thrown back and the smoke introduced at that point without permitting any of the bees to escape through the super. The honey-sections are clamped to the super by an end board 22, which is adjustable and which is caused by wedges 23 to clamp the 5 sections between it and the opposite or farther stationary end of the super. A transverselydisposed sheet-metal strip 24 is arranged at the bottom of the super, directly beneath the adjustable end piece 22, to prevent bees from getting behind the latter and depositing honey secretion and gumming the wedges and the adjustable end piece 22.

When it is desired to transfer bees, they may be captured by means of a rectangular cage 25, consisting of a fiat box having a sheetmetal bottom 26 and provided at each end with a bee-entrance 27 and adapted to be arranged at the front of the hivein advance of the bee-entrance 9 to cause bees to enter it either in leaving the hive or in attempting to gain access thereto. The cage is provided at its top with open ings 28, covered with wiregauze 29. It is provided adjacent to the openings 28 with pivoted slides 30, arranged to be swung over the openings, either wholly or partially; and it is detachably secured to the front of the hive at either of its ends by pairs of hooks 31, arranged to engage eyes or staples 32 of the hive-body.

Then the super is removed, a horizontal partition-board 33 may be arranged in the space above the frames 13. It is provided at its ends with cleats 34, to form a space between it and the tops of the frames for the passage of bees when the'hive is being smoked from either of the openings 3; and it is provided with a central bee-escape 35, over which the cage may be placed. This board is provided at opposite sides with eyes 36 to be engaged by a pair of the hooks 31; and it has a supporting-post 37 to assist in holding the cage in proper position. At each bee-entrance of the cage is arranged a slide 38, mounted in suit-able ways.

In winter the bees may be protected by placing the horizontal partition above the brood-frames instead of the super, and a pivoted slide 39 is arranged on the lower face of the board for closing the bee-escape 35, or the cage may be placed in the cover for this purpose.

It will be seen that the hive is simple and comparatively inexpensive in construction, that it enables bees to be readily handled, and that it greatly facilitates the care of bees. It will also be seen that in shipping bees the hive may be readily ventilated and that the bees may be readily caught for transferring when desired.

Other objects and advantages will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

Changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resortedto without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

What I claim is- 1. In a beehive, the combination of the hive-body containing brood-frames and provided with unobstructed screened side open ings which admit of the direct passage of smoke therethrough, and a combined super and shipping crate adapted to be removably fitted into the hive-body and to contain honeysections, said super essentially consisting of a light skeleton-frame having an open top, and a screen-door fitted Within the open top of the frame, said screen-door serving to allow the passage of smoke therethrough when the combined super and crate is within the hivebody, and for the ventilation of the super and crate when the same is removed from the hive-body and used as a shipping-crate, substantially as set forth.

2. In a beehive, the combination of the hive-body containing brood-frames and provided with a bottom bee-entrance and with screened side openings which admit of the introduction of smoke therelhrough, a horizontal partition-board removably fitted with in the hive-body on top of the brood-frames and provided with a bee-escape opening, and an upright supporting-post at one side of said opening, and a ventilated cage provided at opposite ends with bee-entrance openings and having a detachable connection with either one side of the hivebody or with the top of said partition-board, whereby oneof the beeentrance openings of the cage will be held in registering alinement with either the bottom bee-entrance of the hive-body or the bee-escape opening of the partition-board, said cage when secured in position on top of said partition-board hein g adapted to register against and at one side of said supporting-post, sub stantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

NORMAN COMSTOOK KELSO.

\Vitn esses:

HENRY SoHNEoK, JOHN S. FRICK. 

